苹果公司为何创新乏力

早在特朗普总统的关税政策作势要颠覆苹果公司在中国的制造业务之前，该公司在新产品研发上的困境就已让一些身处硅谷豪华总部的员工开始思考，这家企业是否在某种程度上失去了神奇魔力。

双语精读

What's Wrong With Apple?

苹果公司怎么了？

Even before President Trump's tariffs threatened to upend Apple's manufacturing business in China, the company's struggle to make new products was leading some people inside its lavish Silicon Valley headquarters to wonder whether the company had somehow lost its magic.

早在特朗普总统的关税政策作势要颠覆苹果公司在中国的制造业务之前，该公司在新产品研发上的困境就已让一些身处硅谷豪华总部的员工开始思考，这家企业是否在某种程度上失去了神奇魔力。

The tariffs, which were introduced April 2, caused Apple to lose $773 billion in market capitalization in four days and briefly lose its standing as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world.

特朗普的关税于4月2日出台，导致苹果在四天内损失了7730亿美元市值，并短暂失去了全球价值最高上市公司的地位。

But investors had already started to sour on the company, sending its share price down 8 percent in the first four months of the year, double the S&P 500's decline.

但投资者对该公司已经失去兴趣，导致其股价在今年一月至四月下跌了8%，跌幅是标普500指数跌幅的两倍。

Apple had hoped to revive its fortunes over the past year with a virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro, and an artificial intelligence system called Apple Intelligence. Sales of the headset have been a disappointment, however, and the signature features of the A.I. system have been postponed because it didn't work as well as the company had expected.

苹果曾希望凭借虚拟现实头显Vision Pro和苹果人工智能系统在过去一年重振辉煌。然而，头显的销量令人失望，AI系统的标志性功能也推迟发布，因为没有达到公司预期的效果。

In a nearly two-hour video presentation last summer, Apple demonstrated how the A.I. product would summarize notifications and offer writing tools to improve emails and messages. The A.I. features were unavailable when new iPhones shipped.

去年夏天，在近两个小时的视频演示中，苹果展示了这款AI产品将如何总结通知并提供写作工具，从而润色电子邮件和消息。新iPhone上市时，这些AI特色功能无法使用。

Then, last month, the company postponed the spring release of an improved Siri because internal testing found that it was inaccurate on nearly a third of requests, said three people familiar with the project who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

三位了解该项目但要求匿名的人士透露，后来，也就是上个月，苹果推迟了升级版Siri的春季发布，因为内部测试发现，其应答错误率接近三成。

It was the first time in years that Apple hadn't shipped a product it had unveiled. The A.I. stumble was set in motion in early 2023.

这是多年来苹果首次发布了产品却没能上市。在AI系统上摔的这一跤从2023年就开始了。

Mr. Giannandrea, who was overseeing the effort, sought approval from the company's chief executive, Tim Cook, to buy more A.I. chips. Mr. Cook approved a plan to double the team's chip budget, but Apple's finance chief, Luca Maestri, reduced the increase to less than half that, the people said.

当时负责这项工作的詹南德雷亚向公司CEO蒂姆·库克申请批准购买更多AI芯片。知情人士表示，库克批准了将团队芯片预算翻倍的方案，但苹果首席财务官卢卡·马斯特里将增幅削减至不足原计划的一半。

At the same time, leaders at two of Apple's software teams were battling over who would spearhead the rollout of Siri's new abilities. Both ended up with pieces of the project.

与此同时，苹果的两个软件团队的负责人正在争夺谁去带头推出Siri的新功能。双方最终各自获得了项目的一部分领导权。

The infighting followed a broader exodus of talent from Apple. In 2019, Jony Ive, the company's chief designer, left to start his own design firm and poached more than a dozen integral Apple designers and engineers.

内斗之前，苹果已经历了一波大规模人才流失。2019年，苹果公司首席设计官乔尼·艾维离职并创办了自己的设计公司，同时挖走了苹果的十多名核心设计师与工程师。

And Dan Riccio, the company's longtime head of product design who worked on the Apple Watch, retired last year. In their place, Apple has been left with old and new leaders with less product development experience.

而长期担任产品设计负责人、参与苹果手表项目的丹·里奇奥已于去年退休。他们离开后，苹果只剩下在产品开发方面经验较少的新旧领导层。

词汇预习

release [高考]
美[rɪˈliːs] | 英[rɪˈliːs]
n. 释放；让渡；发行
vt. 释放；让与；准予发表；发射
executive [高考]
美[ɪɡˈzekjətɪv] | 英[ɪɡˈzekjətɪv]
adj. 行政的；决策的；经营的；[计算机]执行指令
n. 行政主管；行政部门；决策者
virtual [高考]
美[ˈvɜːrtʃuəl] | 英[ˈvɜːtʃuəl]
adj. 实质的；【计】虚拟的
disappointment [高考]
美[ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt] | 英[ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt]
n. 失望；令人失望的人或事
publicly [高考]
美['pʌblɪkli] | 英['pʌblɪkli]
adv. 公开地；公然地；以公众名义
briefly [高考]
美[ˈbriːfli] | 英[ˈbriːfli]
adv. 简短地；简单的
headset [高考]
美[ˈhedset] | 英[ˈhedset]
n. 头戴式耳机
summarize [高考]
美[ˈsʌməraɪz] | 英[ˈsʌməraɪz]
v. 概述；摘要而言
internal [高考]
美[ɪnˈtɜːrnl] | 英[ɪnˈtɜːnl]
adj. 国内的；内部的；身内的
motion [高考]
美[ˈmoʊʃn] | 英[ˈməʊʃn]
n. 移动；动作；打手势；示意；提议；大便
v. 示意；运动；向 ... 打手势
stumble [高考]
美[ˈstʌmbl] | 英[ˈstʌmbl]
v. 绊倒；蹒跚；犯错误；无意中发现
n. 绊倒；错误
revive [高考]
美[rɪˈvaɪv] | 英[rɪˈvaɪv]
vt. 使重生；恢复精神；唤醒
vi. 复生
struggle [高考]
美[ˈstrʌɡl] | 英[ˈstrʌɡl]
vi. 努力；奋斗；斗争；挣扎
n. 斗争；竞争；奋斗
decline [高考]
美[dɪˈklaɪn] | 英[dɪˈklaɪn]
v. 下降；减少；变弱；拒绝；倾斜
n. 减少，衰退
intelligence [高考]
美[ɪnˈtelɪdʒəns] | 英[ɪnˈtelɪdʒəns]
n. 智力；智慧；才智；（尤指关于敌国的）情报
artificial [高考]
美[ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃl] | 英[ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃl]
adj. 人造的；虚伪的；武断的
chief [高考]
美[tʃiːf] | 英[tʃiːf]
adj. 主要的；首要的
n. 首领
budget [高考]
美[ˈbʌdʒɪt] | 英[ˈbʌdʒɪt]
n. 预算
vt. 编预算；为 ... 做预算
vi. 节省开支
adj. 廉价的；不贵的
presentation [高考]
美[ˌpriːzenˈteɪʃn] | 英[ˌpreznˈteɪʃn]
n. 介绍；陈述；赠送物；报告；[美]讲课
software [高考]
美[ˈsɔːftwer] | 英[ˈsɒftweə(r)]
n. 软件
signature [高考]
美[ˈsɪɡnətʃər] | 英[ˈsɪɡnətʃə(r)]
n. 签署；书帖；有特征的符号；【计】签名
finance [高考]
美[ˈfaɪnæns] | 英[ˈfaɪnæns]
n. 金融；财政；资金
vt. 给 ... 提供资金；负担经费
approval [高考]
美[əˈpruːvl] | 英[əˈpruːvl]
n. 同意；批准；认可；赞同
set in [高考]
美[sɛt ɪn] | 英[set in]
嵌入；开始
familiar with [高考]
美[fəˈmɪljɚ wɪð] | 英[fəˈmiljə wið]
熟悉的;友好的，过分亲密的
would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式
headquarters [四级]
美[ˈhedkwɔːrtərz] | 英[ˌhedˈkwɔːtəz]
n. 总部；司令部；指挥部
inaccurate [四级]
美[ɪnˈækjərɪt] | 英[ɪnˈækjərət]
adj. 不准确的；错误的
longtime [四级]
美['lɒŋtaɪm] | 英['lɒŋtaɪm]
adj. 长期的(持久的)
leading [四级]
美[ˈliːdɪŋ , ˈledɪŋ] | 英[ˈliːdɪŋ , ˈledɪŋ]
adj. 领导的；指导的；主要的；在前的
integral [六级]
美[ˈɪnteɡrəl , ɪnˈteɡrəl] | 英[ˈɪntɪɡrəl , ɪnˈteɡrəl]
adj. 完整的；构成整体所必需的
n. [数] 积分；完整
lavish [六级]
美[ˈlævɪʃ] | 英[ˈlævɪʃ]
adj. 大方的；丰富的；浪费的
vt. 浪费；慷慨给予
manufacturing [专四]
美[ˌmænjəˈfæktʃərɪŋ] | 英[ˌmænjuˈfæktʃərɪŋ]
n. 制造业
adj. 制造业的
spearhead [专八]
美[ˈspɪrhed] | 英[ˈspɪəhed]
n. 矛尖；突击队的先遣队；攻击的最前线
v. 做先锋；在前面带头做先锋
standing [专八]
美[ˈstændɪŋ] | 英[ˈstændɪŋ]
n. 持续；地位
adj. 永久的；不动的；直立的；不流动的
upend [考研]
美[ʌpˈɛnd] | 英[ʌpˈend]
v. 竖立；颠倒；颠覆；倒立
exodus [托福]
美[ˈeksədəs] | 英[ˈeksədəs]
n. 大批的离去
less than [雅思]
美[les ðən] | 英[les ðən]
不到；少于

重点讲解

What’s Wrong With Apple?

苹果公司怎么了？

Even before President Trump’s tariffs threatened to upend Apple’s manufacturing business in China, the company’s struggle to make new products was leading some people inside its lavish Silicon Valley headquarters to wonder whether the company had somehow lost its magic.

The tariffs, which were introduced April 2, caused Apple to lose $773 billion in market capitalization in four days and briefly lose its standing as the most valuable publicly traded company in the world.

特朗普的关税于4月2日出台，导致苹果在四天内损失了7730亿美元市值，并短暂失去了全球价值最高上市公司的地位。

standing n. 地位；身份

【例】The scandal would shake the Institute's standing in the academic community.

这桩丑闻会动摇这个学院在学术界的地位。

【搭配】be of considerable standing 很有地位的

to boost/enhance one’s standing 巩固某人的地位

【近义词】status n. 地位

sour v. 使变酸；使恶化

【例】The hot weather has soured the milk.

炎热的天气使牛奶变酸了。

Her temper has soured after marriage.

她婚后脾气变坏了。

【搭配】sour on sb/sth 感到厌烦、失望等

But investors had already started to sour on the company, sending its share price down 8 percent in the first four months of the year, double the S&P 500’s decline.

但投资者对该公司已经失去兴趣，导致其股价在今年一月至四月下跌了8%，跌幅是标普500指数跌幅的两倍。

standing n. 地位；身份

【例】The scandal would shake the Institute's standing in the academic community.

这桩丑闻会动摇这个学院在学术界的地位。

【搭配】be of considerable standing 很有地位的

to boost/enhance one’s standing 巩固某人的地位

【近义词】status n. 地位

sour v. 使变酸；使恶化

【例】The hot weather has soured the milk.

炎热的天气使牛奶变酸了。

Her temper has soured after marriage.

她婚后脾气变坏了。

【搭配】sour on sb/sth 感到厌烦、失望等

Apple had hoped to revive its fortunes over the past year with a virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro, and an artificial intelligence system called Apple Intelligence. Sales of the headset have been a disappointment, however, and the signature features of the A.I. system have been postponed because it didn’t work as well as the company had expected.

苹果曾希望凭借虚拟现实头显Vision Pro和苹果人工智能系统在过去一年重振辉煌。然而，头显的销量令人失望，AI系统的标志性功能也推迟发布，因为没有达到公司预期的效果。

revive v. 使复活；复兴

【例】to revive the economy/a custom/the interest in sth

振兴经济/恢复一项习俗/重新点燃对某事的兴趣

【拓展】revival n. 复兴；振兴

vital adj. 生机勃勃的

vitality n. 生命力

去年夏天，在近两个小时的视频演示中，苹果展示了这款AI产品将如何总结通知并提供写作工具，从而润色电子邮件和消息。新iPhone上市时，这些AI特色功能无法使用。

ship v. 上市；出货；运输

【例】The new model is due to ship next month.

新型号定于下月上市。

【近义词】launch v. 发布；上市

release v. 发布；发行

on the condition of 条件是

【例】She was willing to be a witness on the condition of safety guarantees.

她愿意当证人，条件是安全得到保障。

【搭配】on condition that... 条件是

【拓展】on no condition 无论如何都不；决不

【例】You must on no condition do that.

你决不能做这件事。

三位了解该项目但要求匿名的人士透露，后来，也就是上个月，苹果推迟了升级版Siri的春季发布，因为内部测试发现，其应答错误率接近三成。

ship v. 上市；出货；运输

【例】The new model is due to ship next month.

新型号定于下月上市。

【近义词】launch v. 发布；上市

release v. 发布；发行

on the condition of 条件是

【例】She was willing to be a witness on the condition of safety guarantees.

她愿意当证人，条件是安全得到保障。

【搭配】on condition that... 条件是

【拓展】on no condition 无论如何都不；决不

【例】You must on no condition do that.

你决不能做这件事。

It was the first time in years that Apple hadn’t shipped a product it had unveiled. The A.I. stumble was set in motion in early 2023.

这是多年来苹果首次发布了产品却没能上市。在AI系统上摔的这一跤从2023年就开始了。

set sth in motion 使某物动起来；开始进行

【例】to set a machine in motion 开动机器

to set the investigation in motion 开始调查

【拓展】motion n. 运动状态

approve v. 正式批准；通过

【例】The committee approved my request.

委员会已批准我的请求。

【搭配】approve of 赞同；同意

【例】She doesn't approve of me leaving school this year.

她不赞成我今年离校。

Mr. Giannandrea, who was overseeing the effort, sought approval from the company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, to buy more A.I. chips. Mr. Cook approved a plan to double the team’s chip budget, but Apple’s finance chief, Luca Maestri, reduced the increase to less than half that, the people said.

当时负责这项工作的詹南德雷亚向公司CEO蒂姆·库克申请批准购买更多AI芯片。知情人士表示，库克批准了将团队芯片预算翻倍的方案，但苹果首席财务官卢卡·马斯特里将增幅削减至不足原计划的一半。

set sth in motion 使某物动起来；开始进行

【例】to set a machine in motion 开动机器

to set the investigation in motion 开始调查

【拓展】motion n. 运动状态

approve v. 正式批准；通过

【例】The committee approved my request.

委员会已批准我的请求。

【搭配】approve of 赞同；同意

【例】She doesn't approve of me leaving school this year.

她不赞成我今年离校。

At the same time, leaders at two of Apple’s software teams were battling over who would spearhead the rollout of Siri’s new abilities. Both ended up with pieces of the project.

与此同时，苹果的两个软件团队的负责人正在争夺谁去带头推出Siri的新功能。双方最终各自获得了项目的一部分领导权。

spearhead v. 作为先锋；带头

【例】Joe will spearhead our new marketing campaign.

乔将牵头新的市场营销活动。

【近义词】lead v. 带领；带头

poach v. 偷猎；挖墙脚

【例】The company poached the contract from their main rivals.

这家公司窃取了其主要竞争对手的合同。

【近义词】headhunt v./n. 挖人/猎头

【搭配】poach on one’s territory 侵犯某人的权利

The infighting followed a broader exodus of talent from Apple. In 2019, Jony Ive, the company’s chief designer, left to start his own design firm and poached more than a dozen integral Apple designers and engineers.

内斗之前，苹果已经历了一波大规模人才流失。2019年，苹果公司首席设计官乔尼·艾维离职并创办了自己的设计公司，同时挖走了苹果的十多名核心设计师与工程师。

spearhead v. 作为先锋；带头

【例】Joe will spearhead our new marketing campaign.

乔将牵头新的市场营销活动。

【近义词】lead v. 带领；带头

poach v. 偷猎；挖墙脚

【例】The company poached the contract from their main rivals.

这家公司窃取了其主要竞争对手的合同。

【近义词】headhunt v./n. 挖人/猎头

【搭配】poach on one’s territory 侵犯某人的权利

And Dan Riccio, the company’s longtime head of product design who worked on the Apple Watch, retired last year. In their place, Apple has been left with old and new leaders with less product development experience.

而长期担任产品设计负责人、参与苹果手表项目的丹·里奇奥已于去年退休。他们离开后，苹果只剩下在产品开发方面经验较少的新旧领导层。

课后练习

What happened to Apple's share price from January to April?
A. It remained steady.
B. It fluctuated wildly.
C. It decreased by 8 percent.
D. It outperformed the S&P 500.
The release of an improved Siri was postponed last month because ____.
A. Apple wanted to focus on sales of the Vision Pro headset
B. internal testing showed it gave inaccurate responses
C. there was a shortage of components due to tariffs
D. the features were not well received by consumers
What was the final outcome of the AI chip budget?
A. The budget failed to get approved by the CEO.
B. The budget was doubled as initially requested.
C. The proposed budget increase was reduced.
D. The plan was still under discussion.
What is the consequence of the talent exodus from Apple?
A. A fierce infighting for leadership and power.
B. A stronger focus on innovation in product design.
C. Leadership gaps filled by less experienced personnel.
D. Increased investment in artificial intelligence research.